by Kirby Hasseman
If you are like a lot of people, the New Year means there is a special feeling in the air. It’s not just the feeling of being tired and hung over. I mean, it’s that too. But in addition, there is a feeling of hope. It’s a new page, a new year, a new day full of new possibilities. I talked a bit about why this matters here. But for some of us, it can be overwhelming too. Sure, we can start over and have a great new year. But where do I start? How do I get the ball rolling? What can I do to get 2019 started off better than 2018? That challenge is real. When I feel a bit overwhelmed, I like to try and fill my brain with good and inspirational stuff. It often helps get me in the right mindset, so I can take action toward whatever goal I am working on. With that in mind, I wanted to share a few pieces of content that I enjoy that might help you! Dr. Mark Powell on Delivering Marketing Joy: I really enjoy doing Delivering Marketing Joy. I get to talk to some amazing and smart folks. So each episode is fun for me. But this one is perfect for this time of year. Dr. Powell has a new book called “Clutch” and he spends some time talking about that with me here. I love the idea of creating “rituals” in your life to create a happier and more productive you. My YouTube Channel: One of my goals for 2019 is to increase the amount of value I deliver through video…and I want to increase my subscribers! You can help me with that by clicking here and subscribing. Oh, and here is a recent video that went sideways when we “misplaced” our drone. Watch that here. Akimbo Podcast: If you know me at all, you know that I really enjoy the work of Seth Godin. He is smart and thoughtful and he brings that to his podcast. For me, this is “must listen” content. So that’s a short list to get you started today. And of course if you have some great content that I should check out, let me know! Happy New Year everyone! Let’s make it a great one! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here.
by Kirby Hasseman
It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 months. On May 30th I decided to start writing this blog every day. And since that day, come hell or high water, I have put something up. Sometimes it has been good. Sometimes…not so much. But the hits kept on coming each and every day. But why though? What is the point of the exercise? As I said in the beginning, it’s because I think we are a media company...and we need to start acting like it. I still believe that…and I wanted to revisit the idea. Since I have started this exercise, I have gotten a lot of questions. I wanted to address them here. Why are you doing this? What do you hope to gain? This is a question I get a lot. The simple answer is, attention and website traffic. Our website traffic, as you would hope, has gone up a lot. We have increased the number of people on our newsletter and we have increased the amount of opens on that newsletter. So not only do we have more people on it, but they want the information. That’s good stuff. We have also increased our sales over that time. It’s a funny thing about content marketing. It’s tough to point to one post and say “oh…that’s the one that caused our increase in sales.” For us, it has been “drip, drip, drip,” over time. During that same time…sales are up. BUT there is no way I can read it every day!I hear this a lot too. Totally cool by the way. And I guess, from my perspective, I don’t expect you to. I never had the idea that people would be sitting by their computer just waiting for the “ping” to come though to let them know I had published more amazing nuggets of knowledge. That would be great…but not my expectation. The idea is I can reach you when you want to be reached. For me to make sure I was there when you needed…I posted every day. In addition, I never knew what idea was going to resonate. I talk about that a bit here. Where Else Can I Find Your Content?As I mentioned above, I want to reach people where they want to be reached. So if you are not a reader, then this might not be for you. So here are some other pieces of content you can find. Delivering Marketing Joy: Hosted at PromoCorner, this is a video interview series that I am incredibly proud of. I have been doing this for 4 years now (so hard to believe). If you want to check that out…it comes out every Wednesday. Here is the latest episode. The unScripted Podcast: Another product of PromoCorner, my buddy Bill Petrie and I talk about the world of marketing and branding every week. We are a bit silly at times and certainly unedited in our opinions. I am proud of this award-winning podcast…and you can listen to the latest one here. Day In The Life: This is my vlog and I have been pleasantly surprised about how many people watch this (here is the latest). It’s about some daily adventures…and it’s usually fun. You can find it on my Youtube channel as above, or you can follow my Facebook page here. What Is Next?This is a question I am asking myself right now. Though I did not have specific measures of success when I started this, I have been incredibly pleased with the results. But do I want to keep this up every day? Is blogging the best way to do it? I am not completely sure what I want to continue to do in 2019. (Opinions welcome here if you want to weigh in). Here are some things I do know. Content is fun for me…and it works. I want to continue to create…and I want to get better. I am excited about 2019. How about you? Thanks so much for reading, listening and watching this year. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP list. As I mentioned above this list is growing. We send one email per week with all of the content! Sign up here.
by Kirby Hasseman
My awesome wife (yes my wife is the best) bought me tickets to go see Garth Brooks in concert for Christmas. So I was lucky enough to be among the thousands of fans to see him in Pittsburgh recently. The show was truly outstanding. Whether you are a fan of his music or not, Garth puts on a show to remember. What an entertainer!
But it got me thinking, “What can I take away from this? What can I learn?” So here is what I came up with…5 Lessons to Learn from a Garth Brooks Concert!
The Power of the Wink: Gary Vaynerchuk actually talks about this concept. Garth understands that there is a huge amount of power in making each person in the stadium feel special. He runs around the stage so he spends time really singing and engaging with each section. He waves at individuals, slaps hands, and spends real moments that will create raging fans for life.
Lesson: Each customer matters…do you make them feel special?
Do More: The show was amazing. At the end of the event, I was tired! We had gone on a journey and stood and sang along. We had laughed and cried and screamed. And all I could think was, “He is going to do this again…tonight!” Garth scheduled two shows at 6:30pm and 10:30pm. Now that is ambitious.
Lesson: Want to grow your business? Do more than most people think is reasonable.
Bring The Energy: The reason I was so amazed that he was going to do this twice was, the level of energy he brought to the show was off the charts! He ran around and sang and screamed and (it seemed) had a great time. The audience responded to his passion by screaming louder (which I am sure fed his energy again).
Lesson: Your energy can really be contagious…is yours worth catching?
Play The Favorites: Garth actually talked about this during the show. He said when you come to see your favorite entertainer, it’s okay to hear the “new stuff.” But you bought the ticket to hear the old favorites. He’s right. The same is true for your customers. If you won them over with fantastic service, don’t change that model if you grow. Do what you do best!
Lesson: Don’t lose sight of what makes you special.
Let Your Team Shine: Around the middle of the show, Garth brought out his wife Trisha Yearwood to the stage. She is a talented entertainer in her own right and she did several great tunes from her career. In addition, both Trisha and Garth took the backseat as they welcomed one of their back-up singers to to front of the stage. She had written one of the songs Trisha was performing so they let her sing lead (and she was awesome). It was a cool moment for her and it made you like Garth and Trisha even more.
Lesson: Don’t be afraid to let your team members take the spotlight sometimes! It makes you look good.
What a show! If you get the chance to see it, I recommend it. And if you do (or if you have already seen him) let me know what lessons I missed! Remember…Sail Your Vessel!
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by Kirby Hasseman
I love Thanksgiving. It’s my favorite holiday. It seems like the whole world starts trying to celebrate Christmas after Labor Day. But I like the idea of gathering with family and friends, with no gifts, and being grateful. And this week I have talked a bit about being grateful and kind in our lives here. But today I wanted to say “thank you” to you. Yes…you. Since May 31st I have been writing a blog post here every day. It’s been fun on some days and a struggle on others. But I have put something up here each day. And today, it occurs to me, that many of you have read quite a few of them. That means a lot to me. So I am grateful for you. In honor of that, and in honor of those that have joined in along the way, I have decided to share some of the most read blogs here. 5 Books I Recommend: There are some cool books on this list, and it ties to my podcast. But this one took off because my good buddy, Jeff Haden, shared it! He is a Linkedin influencer (and this features one of his books). I Am Not For Everyone: This is one that caught we off guard. I took this from a conversation I was having and post it at the last minute. But it must have struck a nerve! Sometimes authenticity and vulnerability matter. 3 Lessons from Bohemian Rhapsody: My wife and I enjoyed this movie (regardless of reviews) and it made me think. I woke up the next morning thinking about the band’s journey. Here is what I took from it. 5 Lessons from Skucamp: It’s funny. This event has obviously left an impression with me. I posted about it yesterday here. But my original post about my lessons from the overall event still have people checking it out. 5 Book I Want My Daughters to Read: Yes, I am all about books. But this book list is foundational for personal development (from my perspective). Check out the list here…and read them! So like I said, today I want to say “thank you.” I really appreciate you taking the time to read, engage, share and grow! Let me know if I can help you! Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter here! Each week we put together one email with all of the content of the week and send it to you!
by Kirby Hasseman
I love going to events that educate and inspire me. For me, it’s a great way to get out of the whirlwind, and learn and create ideas. One event I had the chance to attend this year was Skucamp. I talked about 5 of the takeaways from the event here. I was also honored to speak at the event with my good friend Bill Petrie. Bill and I took on the topic of Content Marketing in pretty raw form. We were honest about how we got started, and our struggles in doing so. And hopefully we were a little funny too! Here is a link to the presentation. This presentation is for: *Anyone that wants to do Content Marketing…but is not sure how to start. *Anyone that is not sure Content Marketing actually works. *Anyone that has tried Content Marketing in the past and failed. Bill and I also dig into our overall philosophies about Content Marketing. Feel free to check it out and let us know what you think! Make sure you never miss an update. Sign up for the VIP Newsletter here.
